C4 A First Rank Zombie

As Mu Chenyu and Hwa Xin ascended to the fifth floor, they expected to encounter the usual aimlessly wandering zombies. However, to their surprise, the area was eerily devoid of the undead. Zombies, especially in their initial stages, lacked any semblance of intelligence and operated purely on instinctual hunger. Yet the chaotic debris and the scattered remnants of flesh and blood on the floor were telltale signs of recent zombie activity.

"Could there be another formidable creature around?" Mu Chenyu wondered, a sense of unease gripping him.

The plump Hwa Xin, who was not only the subordinate but also blessed with keen eyesight, gulped nervously. His round face was etched with fear as he stammered, "Boss, could it be another mutant dog that's devoured the zombies?"

"I doubt it," Mu Chenyu replied, scrutinizing the ground. "The tracks suggest the zombies moved on their own accord, likely heading to the top floor."

"Let's head up. Have the zombies evolved to possess intelligence?" he mused aloud.

Taking Hwa Xin's observation into account, Mu Chenyu confirmed that the zombies must have all migrated to the sixth floor. Without further delay, he signaled to Hwa Xin and made a beeline for the stairs.

"Hey, Boss, wait for me!" Hwa Xin called out, hurrying after him.

Upon reaching the sixth floor, they discovered a scene of macabre hierarchy. Over thirty zombies were gathered around a dark-skinned zombie, towering a good few dozen centimeters above the rest. This imposing figure stood roughly two meters and thirty centimeters tall, its green skin a stark contrast to the ashen pallor of its peers. Its claws and the fangs protruding from its mouth glinted with a sinister glow, hinting at a lethal weapon infused with potent venom and unparalleled sharpness. It was hard to imagine anything that could withstand such a force.

The dark-skinned zombie occasionally stretched out its lethal claws, slicing through the skulls of nearby zombies with ease, as if cutting through tofu. It would extract an evolution bead and pop it into its mouth, a look of contentment spreading across its face as its fangs became even more menacing.

The ground was littered with over a dozen zombie corpses, each with a distinctive hole in their head—a clear indication of the dark-skinned zombie's handiwork.

Suddenly, the dark-skinned zombie, savoring its meal, detected a powerful energy drawing near with its acute senses. If it could consume this force, it knew it would achieve significant advancement.

"Roar! Roar!"

The dark-skinned zombie let out a thunderous roar, charging straight for the staircase on the sixth floor with a horde of zombies in hot pursuit. They showed no signs of animosity toward the dark-skinned zombie for cannibalizing one of their own.

To these zombies, the dark-skinned one was the undisputed ruler.

It acted on its whims, and the concept of not eating one's own kind was foreign to them. Through their bloodthirsty gaze, anything brimming with energy was fair game.

But the dark-skinned zombie stood above them in rank, making resistance futile.

Mu Chenyu, intent on uncovering the truth, was oblivious to the looming danger as he neared the sixth floor.

After all, he had never faced a zombie of such formidable strength. On the fifth floor, once he realized he wasn't dealing with a mutated beast, he let his guard down.

In his mind, nothing posed a threat to him except for mutated beasts.

Yet reality was about to give him a harsh lesson.

Upon reaching the sixth floor, Mu Chenyu immediately felt the ground's subtle tremors and, with his keen senses, detected a distant, heavy sound.

"Hmm."

Mu Chenyu was puzzled. He couldn't fathom how the zombies could detect him from such a distance; previously, he'd have to be within fifty meters to be noticed.

Now, over a hundred meters away, he could still be sensed, and the sound was unmistakably the distinctive gait of a zombie—clumsy, heavy, and unsteady, accompanied by the grating noise of debris being crushed underfoot.

"Zombies incoming. Watch out, something's off."

Mu Chenyu murmured to Hwa Xin, then crept to the wall's edge, peering into the corridor.

There, a towering dark-skinned zombie thundered toward him like a tank, obliterating everything in its path—bed frames and chairs splintered like they were made of paper.

"An advanced zombie!"

Mu Chenyu exclaimed in horror at the sight of the zombie, which was clearly distinct from the regular horde.

Although Mu Chenyu had slain a mutated beast just yesterday, it was a mere common one. Had it been an advanced creature, he likely wouldn't have stood a chance to escape.

Now, faced with the apocalypse's first advanced zombie, real fear gripped him.

One couldn't truly grasp the difference between a Level Zero and a First Rank zombie without feeling that overwhelming pressure firsthand.

Without engaging, merely witnessing the zombie's tyrannical presence and its crushing advance left Mu Chenyu with no illusion of fighting back.

It would be suicidal!

Moreover, his heightened senses as a martial cultivator let him acutely perceive the stench of death and the overwhelming malice that came with it.

"What?"

Hwa Xin, gasping for breath behind him, was bewildered. Seeing the terror etched on his leader's face sent a chill through his spine.

He hadn't seen such fear in his boss's eyes the day before.

"What in the world is happening?"

Before Hwa Xin could voice his concerns, Mu Chenyu had already transferred the knife from his injured left hand to his right.

In a swift motion, his left hand shot out like a bolt of lightning, seizing Hwa Xin's arm and hoisting him up as if he were no heavier than a parcel, then darted towards a nearby window.

"Ah, boss, what are you doing? Don't do anything rash!"

Hwa Xin's alarmed shout echoed as he struggled in vain against Mu Chenyu's formidable grip.

"Jump."

The command was a single word, laden with an unspoken urgency. Without a moment's hesitation, Mu Chenyu shattered the window and leapt out.

"Ah!"

The shrill scream that erupted from Hwa Xin could rival that of a tenor, yet it went unheard by Mu Chenyu.

The biting wind sliced past his ears as his keen eyes locked onto the ground below, calculating the best place to land.

Before the apocalypse, a fall from the sixth floor would have been fatal.

But now, with his enhanced physique, Mu Chenyu could survive the jump alone with minimal risk.

However, the added weight of Hwa Xin, tipping the scales at over three hundred pounds, complicated matters. Even with Mu Chenyu's intervention, the impact would be tremendous.

Meanwhile, the dark-skinned zombie, robbed of its prey, let out an enraged howl. Its vicious claws shredded the nearby concrete walls, leaving a swath of destruction in its wake.

After ingesting five evolution beads, it managed to quell its rage.

With its limited intelligence, the concept of vanishing food was beyond its comprehension.

Otherwise, it would have pursued them relentlessly, and in that scenario, Mu Chenyu would have had no chance of escape.

But a zombie that smart shouldn't exist; if it did, what hope would humanity have left?

Meanwhile, on the sixth floor, Wang Hu, Dong Xuetine, and Faang Jie were in the midst of their zombie extermination when they caught sight of Mu Chenyu and his companion. They could distinctly make out the glaring dark-skinned zombie near the window, sending a deep chill through their spines.

As Mu Chenyu and his hefty companion leaped down, the onlookers watched the slender young man effortlessly carry the larger man. The instant he touched down, he bent slightly, and with a resounding crash, hit the ground.

"Crack! Crack!"

The sound reverberated, as if heard clearly by the distant groups.

"Boss!"

Hwa Xin's anguished cry erupted, his face contorted with madness, eyes red with blood.

Upon landing, he heard the harrowing sound of Mu Chenyu's bones shattering.

His heart was in agony.

Never had anyone risked their life to protect him. His obesity had left him friendless since childhood, leading to his reclusive nature.

He had resolved to follow Mu Chenyu after witnessing his formidable ability to dispatch zombies, seeking only a chance to survive.

Yet now, Mu Chenyu had sacrificed his own well-being for him.

In a post-apocalyptic world, the fate of the gravely injured was all too clear.

It was worth it, worth a lifetime.

For the rest of my days, I entrust my weight to you.

My leader, Mu Chenyu.

Turning, he saw Mu Chenyu gripping the knife's hilt with his right hand, propping himself up to avoid collapsing. The blade was buried partway into the ground. His left arm, once holding him, now dangled powerlessly. His feet had sunk into the earth, leaving two large craters, and the surrounding concrete was fissured like a spider's web.

"Move."

Mu Chenyu, fighting through excruciating pain, uttered a single word before quickly shutting his mouth, though blood inevitably trickled from the corner of his lips.

"Okay."

That single word encapsulated Hwa Xin's unwavering conviction.

His life was his own, as was this era.

He produced an Evolution Bead and popped it into his mouth, where it instantly transformed into a surge of potent energy that coursed through his limbs and bones, unleashing a formidable power from within.

With great care, Hwa Xin hoisted Mu Chenyu onto his back and made a beeline for the cafeteria.

That was where the survivors congregated. Previously, lacking the means, he couldn't join them.

Having allied with Mu Chenyu, he hadn't seen the point.

But now, necessity drove him there; Mu Chenyu had sustained grave injuries and required treatment.

The sight of a frenzied, running Hwa Xin would have been a spectacle on any other day at the campus, but now, it drew no eyes.

Meanwhile, Mu Chenyu, perched on his back, silently meditated to heal his wounds. His left arm and legs were riddled with cracks, webbed with lines like fragile glass on the verge of shattering.

Yet, thanks to days of training and the Evolution Bead's potent influence, his body had been slowly evolving. Though not a transformation, his current injuries, severe as they were, weren't beyond repair.

His bones were ensconced in robust muscles that kept them from breaking apart, while streams of vital energy flowed through his meridians, mending the afflicted areas.

The Blood Core energy he had ingested the day before hadn't been fully depleted and now seeped out to expedite the healing of his body.

Still, the wounds he bore now were far more grievous than those of the previous day.

Then, it had been the mutated dog's speed and might that had fractured his bones, yet a night's rest had seen him through.

Now, his legs were shattered, held together only by the sinewy strength of his muscles.

His viscera had suffered intense trauma, and the internal damage was not easily mended.

He was so debilitated that speaking was a struggle; all he could do was silently regulate his blood and energy to nurse his injuries.